Chris Jojo captures the roar of the motor world with DPA microphones

Sound designer and automotive recording engineer Chris Jojo picks up microphones from DPA the roar of the gears and the harmonic whispers of the turbochargers of some of the world's greatest racing cars.

Beyond his technical mastery, Jojo's true mission is emotional authenticity. When a player goes full throttle in a race, Jojo wants their heart to race, not just from the visuals, but also from the sound. Jojo was recently commissioned to capture the high-speed audio of a rare Ford RS 200 Group B rally car in BGM Motorsport, after a session of high speed recording on the Mile Straight course at Millbrook Proving Ground. To ensure the precision needed in such unique applications, Jojo opts for its trusted collection of DPA Microphones.

"I'm obsessed with delivering a visceral and realistic racing experience. It's not just about creating effects, it's about awakening memories and sensations," says Jojo. "It's sound design at the border between engineering, physics and raw emotion. The roar of the bass, the screech of the treble, the echo of the exhaust through the trees... I want to transport you there. DPA microphones allow me to isolate and reproduce the complex layers of car sound with astonishing clarity and precision, capturing the soul of the car."

Jojo uses a strategic multi-microphone setup with the omnidirectional microphones 4007 Omnidirectional Pencil, 4011 Cardioid y 4062 Omnidirectional Lavalier of DPA to capture engine, exhaust, intake and transmission sounds, both inside and out. The placement of each microphone is calculated to avoid body reflections and ensure maximum fidelity in environments with high sound pressure levels, essential when working with the explosive sounds of high-performance racing cars.

“On the exhaust, I use a DPA 4007 placed off-axis to avoid distortion and allow the sound to breathe,” explains Jojo. "On the cylinders, the wastegate and even inside the transmission tunnel, I use various DPA models to get as close to the source as possible without compromising safety or audio quality. Everything is off-axis. You can't be on-axis with an exhaust unless you feel like melting the microphone, but that's where the DPA microphones shine. They handle 165 dB SPL without flinching and still deliver a flat, natural sound. For sports audio engine, there is nothing better.”

When sound can breathe

Jojo's meticulous use of DPA microphones also extends to special projects, such as a unique sound design session for F1 in which microphones captured the impact of a carbon fiber nose colliding with a barrier. Using custom stands, Jojo creates environments where sound can breathe, explaining: "When you record something like this from a distance with DPA microphones, you don't just capture the pop, but also the room, the reflections, the whole story. That's what makes it real. It's not about the volume, it's about the character: the timbre, the harmonics, and the ambient reflections."

Jojo, who discovered DPA microphones through F1 broadcasts in the late 1990s, credits the brand robustness, sensitivity and tonal precision that modern racing games require. "It's not just about sticking a microphone near an exhaust pipe and hoping for the best. Whether recording turbo exhaust valves with a 4011 or the harmonic screech of spur gears with a 4062, DPA always delivers," he continues. “My favorite will always be the 4007. Whether it's a battery or a car, the close miking hits you, but it's the aerial microphones, the ambient microphones, that give you the realism, the environment.”

Jojo helps people feel the palm-sweating roar of a digital steering wheel. Its pioneering use of DPA microphones ensures that races are not only visually impressive, but also acoustically faithful to the competition experience at the highest level. Every roar, every gear screech, and every deceleration pop is real, recorded in the field and mixed by a professional sound designer, bringing players closer to the road than ever before. In addition to being a sound designer, Jojo is a composer and car enthusiast. He began working in video game audio in the early '90s and has built a career specializing in authentic car recordings for movies, simulators, and video games, among other things.